


HEROISM: Missing Girl Himiko

by BlackSwanna



Series: Of Heroes and Assassins [3]
Category: Assassination Classroom, 僕のヒーローアカデミア | Boku no Hero Academia | My Hero Academia
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fusion, Backstory, Captivity, Character Death, Child Abuse, Dehumanization, Emotional Manipulation, Emotional/Psychological Abuse, Experimentation, Gen, Human Experimentation, Illegal Activities, Illustrations, Insanity, Kidnapping, Manipulation, Original Character Death(s), Original Character(s), Physical Abuse, Science Experiments, Seizures, world building
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-05
Updated: 2019-03-01
Packaged: 2019-10-22 17:32:56
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 4
Words: 5,941
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17667005
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BlackSwanna/pseuds/BlackSwanna
Summary: Himiko was quirkless; that's what she always thought. And she was fine with that for a while, until she was presented with the chance to change her life.But now she's honestly worst off.





	1. The Quirkless Kidnapping Epidemic

She was twelve years old when she was given a new life, a new purpose. 

No, she couldn’t call it that… This place was a hellhole. Experiments every day, needles, scalpels, sleep quirks, white, white, white, white, white… At least they had time to hangout with other kids. The few left that is.

Her parents always told her never to talk to strangers. Oh, how she should have listened. Now, every moment she spent in this place, her memories began to fade little by little. She has no idea how long she’s been here for. What day or year it is—not even how old she is anymore. She asked once and they said she was still twelve… She just didn’t know anymore. 

She used to be loved, you know? Her family wasn’t terrible, they loved her just like any other parent. Sure, she was usually the only one at home most of the time, but she always chalk that up to her parents trusting her to be on her own. And she was alright with that. Maybe it was because she was quirkless. Maybe they paid someone for this. To take care of her. Maybe she was pawned off to some science company. 

No, wait. Her parents wouldn’t do that. They loved her too much… Right?

Her parents were always busy. They were busy when the smokey man came to the door, promising her a chance to become great, to have a quirk, and took her away to meet Mr. Yanagisawa. 

Daddy was a businessman, the CEO of some agency. Mommy was a film director and a part-time actress. It felt perfect for her shape-shifting quirk. She can’t remember what it was called, but she knew Mommy had to look at a picture of someone before she took their form. Daddy’s quirk was a mutation quirk, some sort of bat mutation. She remembers his sharp teeth and big, pointy ears and black, round eyes. She always thought it was cute, and Mommy liked it when he did this trick with his teeth and a piece of fruit, sucking it from red to gray. 

He called it Red Drain. 

Oh, and she was quirkless. She remembers the doctors were so baffled at her. She had the pinky toe thing, the one that indicated a quirk? But the only thing she showed for anything was two sharp canines just like her father. 

“Number Four, Himiko,” came the calm voice of Mr. Yanagisawa through the glass panel. “You’re up next for checkup.”

Himiko nodded and waited for the loud  _ vrrm’ing _ in the next room to stop.

She shared the waiting room with five other children around her age—the only kids her age anyway. All the others her age she knew were taken to a different section after their doctor visits and all that were left in this section was her, two others her age, and two older kids. The doctor was in today, checking them for any signs of their quirks showing up or not. They had all gotten their injections a couple of days ago—the injections were new, actually. Before they were having different sorts of treatments; some smelly stuff, medicine, pills, once they were given gummy bears too. But even still with the new and strange injections, none of them have had any reactions yet—Well, she supposed one of them did yesterday, ‘cause he wasn’t here today. 

She wondered what happened to him? Huh, oh well. 

The  _ vrrm’ing _ stopped and the thick door slowly screeched opened by itself. Himiko stood up.

“Number Four, Himiko.”

Rubbing her arm, she waved at the peach-haired boy among the row of children waiting for their turn as she passed by. He waved back shyly. 

Once she passed the two giant doors, they closed behind her, leaving her in a small little room, like another waiting room. The grey doors loudly clicked shut before the doors in front of her slowly began to open outwards. There, the quirk doctor stood waiting next to the doctor’s examination table, smiling sweetly. 

“Hello, deary,” the doctor greeted. Inwardly, Himiko cringed for his voice was just so grossly strained despite his (forced) smile. Instead of responding, she instead just meekly smiled and half-waved. The doctor showed no sign of caring for the response and began to usher her to the table right away, to which she did not hesitate in obeying and quickly sat herself on the covered table.

“So, er… Number Four, have you experienced anything unusual since yesterday’s treatment? Any pain or discomfort in your head?” The doctor had a clipboard ready.

She hummed, thinking. “Um… I did ask to go to bed earlier because I was having a headache.” 

He wrote that down.

“I see. Anything else?” 

“There’s, um, a pressure on the side of my head, here,” Himiko pointed to the back of the left side of her head.

He wrote that down too.

“Pressure, you said?”

Himiko nodded with a hum, and the doctor mimicked her in his own way, writing more things down before setting his clipboard off to the side as he moved the stethoscope around his neck. “Alright, now Number Four. I need you to lift the back of your shirt just a bit and turn around, now. I’m going to listen for your heart.”

Swallowing, she nodded and did what she was told. She tried not to flinch at the sheer cold metal touching her warm skin but the doctor ignored it and instead told her to take some deep breaths and hold, then again. Then he checked her eyes, shining lights in them that made her see everything white for a couple of blinks.

It felt like every other doctor’s checkup she’s experienced, except she wasn’t prepared for what came next.

The doctor coaxed her to lay down on her back, her arms and legs splayed flat on the table before some metal held her down by her wrists. She tried to ignore the sudden pounding in her chest and the dull throbbing in her head, something pushing against her skin and just threatening to come out.

“Um… wh-what’s happening?”

“Don’t worry, dear. This is going to tingle a bit, but don’t scream okay, darling? If you’re extra good, we might give you extra play time!” The doctor was behind a big computer.

Something lit up around her, electric blue, and the loud  _ vrrrm’ing _ started up again, vibrating the world around her. The sound felt like it was punching her brain through her ears and she shut her eyes.

The blue lightning-looking energy crossed over her arms from the table, raising her hair up and burning her to her bones, then she felt it throughout her brain and she screamed.

_ Squelch. _

Something ripped from her head, and her screams went quiet, head lolling to the side.

The  _ Vrrm’ing _ continued.

 


	2. Transfers

Life in the Quirk Facility wasn’t all that terrible. 

The kids were fed good food and given time to play and hang out when they weren’t under testing by the bald doctor or Mr. Yanagisawa. Himiko liked the hangout room the best, she thinks. She got to meet the others who were in the Quirk Facility too!

There weren’t many kids left ever since Injection day; whenever she asked, Mr. Yanagisawa would simply answer that they got sick and were transferred to another part of the facility but were perfectly fine. There was an edge in his soft voice when he said this, his eyes squinting just a little too much. 

While Himiko was keen on the fact the man was definitely not… telling the full truth, at least, she had sense enough not to push the subject. The last time she showed attitude to them, they put her in the Punishment Room for a whole day… 

There were six kids left in this side of the facility, and she heard that there were going to be two more transfers sometime soon. 

The day after her check up, she was forced in bedrest, sniffling and resting on her stomach with her back exposed, medicine slathered all over her charred skin. She stayed that way for two days, and with special help from a new nicer doctor who helped her get up and stretch and go to the restroom and eat whenever it was time. Thankfully, by the third day, they brought in a doctor with a healing quirk and the pain was  _ almost _ gone after the treatment. 

They said she was a success, and she was praised highly for it. They said they’d start using that treatment for the other children too. Regrettably, however, they also said she wasn’t done with  _ her _ treatment either. She had successfully retracted the tentacles back to her but has been unable to call them back. Not only that, but there’s been this dull thumping in the back of her head, feeling almost deep in her brain… 

Threatening to spill. 

But the medications she was forced to take were helping. A bit. 

It was about four days after her first treatment when she was finally allowed back into the Hangout room. She went to her usual corner, the beat-up bean bag on the white carpet where dolls and various books laid scattered. As she sat down, she ignored the pinching in her neck and instead brought her favorite Hello Kitty doll to her chest, studying the room around her. There were only three of the six kids she knew with her, each doing different things almost mechanically. Their movements were stiff, almost painful.

Himiko cringed. She could relate.

With a huff, the blonde pulled herself from her comfy seat and made her way to the group, her doll still tight in her grip. It was like a comfort to her. 

She sat down in the middle of them all, clearing her throat—they all looked at her, a small smile on the peach-haired boy’s face. Tobiko was his name. Number fifteen. 

She liked Tobiko, he was nice. And interesting—despite being quirkless, he had pointy ears and strange eyes! He was also a lot older than she was, and she often wondered how he ended up here; if they all were the same.

“Hello,” she greeted the three. “How was your treatments?”

Tobiko sat down by the girl, his legs folded under him while his hands rested on his knees. “Mine was a success.”

The two girls, Ayane and Estuko (Numbers twelve and six) joined the two, crossing their legs and smiling their tired smiles. 

Estuko nodded. “As was mine.”

Ayane shook her head. “They said I’ll need another injection today. Apparently someone messed up with the doses and it wasn’t enough or something.”

“Oh, you didn’t have to go through the electroshock for nothing, did you?” Tobiko frowned.

Himiko shivered at the thought—that’d be awful! And she heard there were other treatments after the shock treatment just in case the first round didn’t trigger the tentacles. The doctor had said the tentacles were currently “programmed” to respond to pain, if they successfully integrate in the person, that is. After they’re activated, they weren’t supposed to hurt anymore, right? Ayane and Estuko then explained that they’ve been experiencing sharp pains in their neck and head. 

“Hey, did you guys hear about the new transfers?” Ayane started, leaning forward.

Himiko nodded. “They said they ‘have their eye on two’—er, at least that’s what I heard from my nurse yesterday.”

Estuko bounced in her seat. “I know, isn’t it so exciting? This place is changing lives! Soon, they’ll be giving this quirk to quirkless adults, too!”

Tobiko seemed a bit unnerved, shuffling uncomfortably. “I almost don’t want that,” he hummed. 

“Huh?” Ayane tilted her head. “Why’d’ya say that?”

The freckled boy shrugged, leaning back on his hands. “Unless they, like, fix their ‘pain activation’ crap, I’d like to live without chronic pain, thank you very much.”

Estuko nodded along with a hum. “...Yeah, I kinda agree. They’re only in their beta stages though, right?”

“Then why test it on a bunch of kids like us?”

“Um, me and Estuko are technically adults, Ayane.”

She finger gunned. “Right.”

Himiko hummed, hugging her Hello Kitty doll closer and pursing her lips. “I wish it would go by faster. I wanna see my Momma and Daddy again.”

The three glanced at her with frowns. She was the youngest in the group, wasn’t she? Tobiko propped his leg up, slinging his arm around his knee. “Y’ever stop to realize we were, like… legitimately kidnapped from our homes?”

They grew quiet, not knowing what to say to that before Mr. Yanagisawa entered the room, a pensive look in his eyes that were poorly disguised by his smile. “Greetings, children. Number fifteen, can you come with me? It’s time for your check up.”

Tobiko quirked a brow. “I had mine this morning.”

“Yes,” Mr. Yanagisawa’s smile grew strained. “And you’re due for another one, Number Fifteen.”

The four children traded nervous glances at each other before Tobiko stood himself up and began rubbing his arm nervously. He glanced at Himiko for a moment before obediently following Mr. Yanagisawa out. The blonde saw how the scientist clamped his hand down hard on the shorter boy.

She turned her golden gaze back to the two girls in front of her, frowning. Ayane and Estuko scooted closer to her leaned in.  _ “He’s right, though,” _ Estuko whispered.

Ayane nodded, and they fell back into a tense silence and the two older girls got up to mess around with their own favorite things—Estuko with a rubix cube and Ayane with some drawing paper.  

After a while of it, Himiko grew restless and raised her head, opening her mouth to speak but paused when she saw Estuko drop her rubix cube and began to twitch. Her hands were tense and in a claw-form, the muscles in her arms tight and her body jerked onto the floor. Himiko and Ayane screamed and stood up like the floor had burned them—instantly, nurses flooded the room, crowding around Estuko while ushering the other two girls out of the room. 

They were at the brink of tears being led back to the eating area, both holding each others’ hands and trying to get the image of Estuko hitting the ground with her eyes rolled up and white spit dripping out—Himiko shook her head, pursing her lips as she fought the tears. 

What had happened? Everything was fine—she was doing fine working on the dumb color box before she just...dropped. 

That night, Himiko couldn’t sleep very well. It was probably the worst night she’s ever had to endure, especially since the pain in her back wouldn’t leave her be and her head felt like it was about to crack in two. 

In the middle of the night, there was a scream that pierced her ears—fear gripped her heart with a claw of ice, squeezing it and paralyzing her where she laid. The rumble of feet passed by outside her room. 

Ayane’s room was in that direction.

Himiko buried herself under her blanket and pillow, forcing the tears to go away.

The next day, Himiko was the only one left in the Hangout Room. When she asked about them, Mr. Yanagisawa said Estuko and Ayane had been transferred to the other building, and Tobiko was recovering from treatment today. 


	3. Numbers

It wasn't until two weeks later that one of the new kids had arrived. She had long white hair and pretty green eyes, but she seemed awfully skittish when she was introduced as Number Nineteen.

Later, when asked, she told Himiko her name was Orchid. She didn't seem like she wanted to be there at the Quirk Facility, which perplexed Himiko—didn't she want to have a quirk? A new purpose in life? A gift? Himiko tried to question it further, but Orchid started to cry, said she missed her little brother.

Himiko felt struck by that.

The doctors said Orchid's treatment would begin in a few weeks while they updated software and got the last new kid ready for their Quirk gift. In the meanwhile, Himiko and Orchid bonded—and Tobiko too, since he was back from his own treatment. He never did bring up kidnapping again—Himiko found that curious, but then forgot about it soon enough.

They learned Orchid's brother wanted to be a hero, and his quirk would help so many people, but she worried a lot for him. She worried that he'd hurt himself again if he overdid it—that his quirk would damage him if he overworked himself too much. It's what's landed him in the hospital twice already. 

Tobiko shared some of his story too. Told them he had two younger siblings, that they were twins. His little sister wanted to be a hero also, and he felt her quirk was perfect for hero’ing, and that it felt ironic for him to even be here getting a tentacle quirk. Meanwhile, his brother didn't have many goals, and hero work wasn't even close to anything he wanted to do, supposedly. Tobiko explains how odd his siblings’ quirks came out—both transformations, but so vastly different too.

Himiko wanted to ask what their quirks were when they were called for lunch break, and that it was Group 2’s turn for the room now.

It was well past midnight now—she and Orchid were sharing a room together this time. It delighted the blonde to be sharing something with someone, especially someone as cool as Orchid. 

The only noise the blonde could hear was the air conditioner in the hallway and the chirping crickets outside their window. Peaceful. Until there was suddenly a rise in voices, and buzzing just behind her ears. She swatted at the air around her head, thinking it was perhaps a fly, but it just followed the movements of her head. She felt testy now, and slightly paranoid—she didn't like bugs. They were creepy to her.

She was about to get up and swing her arms around the area, but then the whispers and buzzing faded away, and she was left blinking at the wall in puzzlement. Whispers. Gone. The growing bumps on the sides of her head started to itch and pulse uncomfortably.

* * *

It was two days later when they heard the sound of struggling and screaming from a boy. The three huddled in their corner of the Hangout room practically raced to the door to look out the window. Down the hall, they watched as a boy with messy black hair was ushered toward the Treatment Center of the facility, his arms held behind him while he shouted and kicked. 

_ “LET ME GO! LET- LET ME! GRAUGH! HELP, S-SOMEONE—” _

Himiko felt ice gather in her stomach and immediately, the three raced away from the door as they passed, pretending they didn’t just experience pure terror at the realization that  _ oh, now they were actually kidnapping children. _

Himiko tried to stall her quick breathing, still her heart. Swallowing deeply, she clutched her Hello Kitty doll tightly to her chest and focused her eyes on Tobiko’s horizontal pupils.

The shouting passed by and a few minutes passed by before the door was opened and Mr. Yanagisawa stepped in, a greeting ready on his lips. “Good evening, children. Number Twenty has arrived today, but he’s very distressed. He will be joining your group at the end of the week, but I must warn you not to overwhelm him.”

* * *

Treatments got worse that week—which stung like a you-know-what and they had brought in more healing-quirk users to get the kids back on their feet before the end of the day to resume Treatments the following day.

It was exhausting and pain-filled and Himiko was just glad Orchid wouldn’t start her treatment until the following week.

Number Twenty finally arrived in the Hangout room and at Lunch. His bangs were a mess and tangled in each other, draped over his eyes and his mop of hair was also just completely unruly—like he hadn’t seen a bath in a few months. He was young, too—Tobiko mentioned how he thought he might be her age. Someone like her.

Orchid, Tobiko, and Himiko all tried to encourage the boy to join in their activities but it fell on seemingly deaf ears. He never looked at anyone or spoke—she didn’t even know his name. He just sat in the corner fiddling with the bunny ears of a worn out and dusty All Might doll.

Himiko felt at odds with him, wanting to help him open up, so she took her Hello Kitty doll in her arms and kneeled down beside him. He ignored her.

“You like heroes?”

He paused in his fiddling. She took that as a good sign to continue.

“Is All Might your favorite?”

Slowly, the boy shifted his head to her and finally she saw a glint of moss in his eye. He nodded, and she beamed.

“I like All Might too, but I really like Vlad King, you know? He’s so cool… maybe after I can finally use my new quirk, I can be a hero like him too. Do you wanna be a hero too?”

She heard Tobiko and Orchid shuffling closer to them, and the boy lowered his doll to the floor. “...yea…” 

There. It was soft, and weak, and cracked but it was there. A whisper of an answer, and Himiko smiled with delight. 

“That’s great, kid,” Tobiko grinned. “I’m Tobiko, Number Fifteen. My little sister wants to be a hero too; she’s around your age. Who knows, maybe you’ll end up being partners in heroism someday, huh?”

Orchid clapped her hands giddily. “I’m Orchid! Number Nineteen. My little brother does too; his name’s Aster.”

“And I’m Himiko! Can you tell us your name, Number Twenty?”

There was silence, and the boy pushed up his bangs from his left eye, a wide moss-colored eye staring at the three of them and studying them intensely. Himiko found it dazzling despite the bags underneath; they complimented his star-dappled cheeks.  She liked Number Twenty.

Then finally the boy opened his mouth and whispered his name.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just realized I forgot to give credit where credit is due (prayer hands) 
> 
> The two OCs mentioned in the previous chapter belong to Veilya & Tattookitten1 on tumblr! thank you both for contributing your OCs to die :')))
> 
> also ngl i want this mini series done so im sorry if it feels rushed ofmg


	4. Escape

They had marked him—Number Twenty.

That was his number. His “name”—but none of them ever used their names, never used his name. 

He was there for a month. He kept track—counted the seconds, the minutes, the hours he spent in the dark, counted how long the needles stayed under his skin pouring liquid into his quirkless veins, how long the electricity tore through his body, tearing his muscles to shreds then how long it took to put him back together again with the sweet and burning taste of healing quirks, just to be put back in that glowy room full of lasers and shock equipment. 

But he supposed it could be worse. 

After all the tests, he was put inside a room with cage doors. He hated that room. There was only one bed against the wall and a toilet in the corner, and it was dark. Always dark. But he could  **always** see the blank-faced people outside his room, watching him like a caged animal, studying him and taking notes on whatever it was they took notes on. 

It took away his humanity, he felt. It grated on his nerves. 

Then one day, he was told he would be moving stations, being introduced to… others like him. Other “borderline successes.” To see if his influence would help speed up the process of their quirks manifesting and activating. They thought he would go without a fight, that his spirit was broken from the trauma they’ve shoved into his head, into his body.

They were wrong.

He screamed and kicked as he was dragged from one facility to the other, never letting up and trying so desperately to try and  **get away** —the walls were white, so white like purity in its physical form, it blinded him. Finally, they dragged him to another room, similar to the shock room from the other facility, then he was gagged and everything went black as the  _ vroom _ ’ing started up and the electricity amped up tore him from the ground under. 

* * *

He met the other kids a few days later—or was it the next day? Next week? He lost track—dammit, he lost track… He couldn’t understand why they all were so adamant to talking to him, trying to  _ pry _ . It grated on his nerves but he felt so drained, like his head was filled with smoke and he couldn’t manage to speak much—not that he could, anyway… Or would. No, never.

He found it strikingly odd this place had a room for the kids—kids his age, and older too. Filled with books you’d find in the kids’ section of a library, and dolls and toys—it all reminded him of a daycare center. It gave him the creepiest vibes, considering the situation he was in—for the last month and who knows how much longer.

He found an old All Might doll, one covered in dust and looking seriously worse for wear, something probably made in All Might’s earlier years as a hero. The boy felt a spark of hope at the doll, grabbing it and holding it to his body. He stared at it, silently hoping that the doll could connect to the hero, find them, bring them home. Bring him home to his mom. 

He missed his mom. 

Tears sprung up in his eyes, hidden under his wild bangs. God, when was the last time he was allowed to shower? Clean his hair? He felt like a disgusting mess, Momma would be so disappointed he hadn’t tried to keep his hygiene up. At least fight for it. The bumps on his head squirmed at the irritation bubbling just under the surface.

Then the nosy girl from before kept pestering him, but he pointedly ignored her until—

“You like heroes?”

He froze. Then nodded.

“Is All Might your favorite?”

He turned his head, a bright eye peering at the blonde girl intensely. Another nod. A rock in his throat. Of course he was his favorite—the kid was an All Might fanatic… 

They spoke for a while more, and he learned their names and their favorite heroes. Tobiko liked Gang Orca and Selkie, while Himiko was a fan of Vlad King. Orchid’s favorites were Moss and Midnight. Number Twenty would remember that.

What was perplexing was that they had asked for his name. They didn’t just call him Number Twenty… They had asked… wanted to know it… 

So he told them his name.

* * *

It wasn’t two days later that an explosion had rung out in the Quirk Facility. The alarm that blared through the halls was almost deafening, painting the white halls an eerie pink. 

Himiko was shot awake by it, then a pain had nearly paralyzed her to the bed, sharp like a knife and spreading like fire from the base of her neck throughout her shoulders and head. She gaped and choked, body spasming with an arch on the bed and then the pain subsided, leaving her breathless where she laid sprawled. 

When she caught her breath, heart still pounding in her ears, a cacophony of whispers broke into her head, driving her attention everywhere. She brought her hands up to her head, her ears, clawing as the whispers grew louder and louder, drowning out the ear splitting wails of the alarm—she thought her head might split open, and open and open  _ and open and open and andopen andop e n an d e op en an— _

Her door swung open, Mr. Yanagisawa standing at the entrance, blood dripping from one side of his face, his hand covering one of his eyes. Some of the blood looked old and dry, and yet some still dripped from between his hands.

“ _ You _ ,” he hissed, rushing into the room and grabbing the blonde’s arm roughly from her perch on her bed. “Come with me. Hurry! Don’t dawdle!”

Himiko squeaked with the touch, the whispers turning to screaming, like claws on a chalkboard trying to create music, rattling her brain and threatening to stab it—and she screamed too, tearing herself from his grip and stumbling, covering her own bloody ears again. The scientist jumped, watching her in her panic before scowling as yells from down the hall began. 

“I don’t have time for this!” he shouted and grabbed her arm again, clamping over her skinny wrist tightly and yanking her forward into the hall with him. “Kurogiri! The portal! I have the girl!”

The black fog—the one who had taken her to this place in the beginning—appeared before them, golden eyes piercing. “And what of the boy? And the other children?”

“Too risky to try and find him. We don’t have time to pry him away, and the others were failures anyway. Now let me in!”

Himiko tried to fight, struggling to pry her hand out from the man’s death grip but it served as no use as he dragged himself into the portal and her with him—she screamed for him to let her go, bare heel pressing against the tile flooring, trying to stop him before she glanced down the hall and spotted the boy—

There was blood on the floor, cascading down the wall and down the boy’s dark face. His eye pierced hers, and she felt paralyzed by the look of utter terror drowning his eyes. His feet took off to her, croaking voice screaming her name, then reached his hand out toward her, and she reached for him too, their hands so close before she was engulfed by the smokey black and the boy disappeared from sight.

* * *

When the alarm had sounded, the boy was startled and threw himself off the bed—huh, funny, this white-walled crazy center was more accommodating than the last place. That prison. 

There were footsteps in the hallway, and he could see red pouring in from the little window in his room door. He ran to the door, peering out the window and watching in astonishment as numerous staff members stumbled through the halls, panicked. Then a booming voice:  **“I AM HERE!”**

He almost had a heart attack at the utter relief that flooded his body, crashing down like a wave upon rocks and he felt tears running down his face, banging on the door and screaming for help. 

This was it—his chance at escape—to go back  _ home _ , get rid of this pain that laced his mind and brain, go back to his mother and live a normal life again—

There, he saw him: All Might, in the flesh. With his piercing smile. He let out a sob of joy, hand pressing against the window and smacking it again while jumping up and down, hoping to gain the hero’s attention. Thankfully, he saw and rushed over.

“Are you alright?!” he heard his booming voice through the steel door, and through tears, the boy nodded. All Might seemed relieved before gesturing for the boy to move aside and he did while the hero reared his arm back and punched the door into the room, a loud  _ slam _ bursting from its crash against the wall. Shrapnel flew from the hinges and the door itself, like a mini explosion that he had to brace for and the boy knew he was far too close to it when he was knocked to the ground and suddenly felt pain pull at his forehead and something wet dripping down the arch of his nose, and he hissed, knowing the smell of blood.

His hand pressed against his forehead to staunch the bleeding, before he pulled himself up just as All Might entered in then rushed to his side to help him up.

“Oh, crap, were you hurt?! I apologize, my boy! Sometimes, I don’t know my own strength, haha!”

He felt like he was dreaming—he was actually… being saved by All Might. His prayers, his wishes, his desperate hopes—All Might was here…. Tears brushed down his cheeks and the hand that held All Might’s tightened and he felt like breaking. All Might moved then, lifting the boy up and racing out the door and down the hall. 

“W-wait—” his voice came out with a croak, weak and terrible from not speaking for so long. Air caught in his throat and he coughed, but forced his hand to grab All Might’s white shirt and tug. He tried again. “W-wait, there’s ss-s’more—others—” 

All Might stopped, about to respond when a scream echoed down the hall, and the boy squirmed from the hero’s arms, tumbling to the ground and racing toward the sound. There was blood everywhere—trailing along the hall floor and dragging against the wall and into another room after a T-hallway. Dread filled him as he slowed at the sight, freezing when he saw Himiko down the intersection on the other side of the hall, struggling from the grip of someone else.

She froze when she saw him, and he felt panicked at the position she was in, half-way through the black hole in the room, face painted in fear. Without another thought, his legs took off after her, vocal chords working double as he screeched her name, reached for her, and she reached back before the black hole consumed her and vanished into thin air. 

He swallowed thickly, hands falling to his sides and feeling a sense of dread that he’s never experienced before—almost like drowning, but there were shackles on his hands and no way to stay afloat. She was right there—and she slipped from his sight like sand through his fingers. All Might caught up rather quickly, a hand on his shoulder to shaking him out of the trance he put himself into, asking if he was alright.

The boy raised his hand and shifted on his feet, gesturing to the hall where the blood leaked toward, knowing All Might would see the door and he heard the hero take a sharp inhale—the warmth of the hero’s hand on his shoulder disappeared and the sound of a door opened, another quiet gasp. The boy raised his hand and covered his eyes under his long bangs, taking deep breaths. She was right there. She was right there. They took her away—he felt his eyes pour again. The door closed. 

All Might returned to his side, a hand on his shoulder again. “It’s best we keep going. I’ve got to get you out of here, kiddo.”

“...Th’ o-others…”

“Hm?”

“T-two oth’rs…Innocent… down th’ hall.”

The hero’s grip tightened just a bit on the boy and he nodded. “Don’t worry, my boy. We’ll look for them.”

He was free. So was Orchid, and Tobiko—though the latter of the two had begun to lose himself in the night, but they were safe. They were home. But Himiko was gone. Declared missing. Without a trace. And he couldn’t do anything.  _ She was right there. _

He cried terribly hard, caving into the embrace of Orchid in the hospital room, who wept with him for her missing friend and the other who had lost all recognition in his eyes.

He got to see his mom again—got to go to the doctor, got to disable his dangerous and painful quick, got to live in peace, got to keep in contact with Orchid and Tobiko. 

Then three months later, with clean hair, a new haircut, and a brighter, healthier complexion, he met All Might again.


End file.
